30 Guilford County schools earn Purple Star designation

Thirty Guilford County schools now carry Purple Star status, a label meant to tell military families that a campus is prepared for sudden moves, deployments and midyear enrollments. Guilford County Schools said the designation covers schools that already serve the district’s largest concentrations of military-connected students.

The schools named this year are Alamance Elementary, Brightwood Elementary, Peck K-8, Claxton Elementary, Eastern High, Eastern Middle, Pearce Elementary, Florence Elementary, Simkins Elementary, Gibsonville Elementary, Grimsley High, High Point Central High, Jamestown Elementary, Jamestown Middle, Kernodle Middle, Millis Road Elementary, Northern Elementary, Northern Middle, Northeast Middle, Northwest High, Northwest Middle, Oak Ridge Elementary, Pilot Elementary, Pleasant Garden Elementary, Reedy Fork Elementary, Shadybrook Elementary, Southeast High, Southwest Middle, Stokesdale Elementary and Sumner Elementary.

GCS said those schools have the highest population of military families in the district. The system said it served close to 2,000 students connected to military families this year, a large share of the district’s more than 66,000 students.

Purple Star status is not just a sticker for the front office. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction launched the program in the 2019-20 school year to recognize schools with military-friendly practices, and the state says Purple Star schools provide a dedicated webpage for military-family resources or links to those resources, plus a transition program for incoming and outgoing students with a checklist to help families use it. Each school also receives a banner and a Purple Star designation on its school report card.

That matters in Guilford County because the practical barriers for military families are often administrative as much as academic. New GCS students must register through the district’s assignment office and school registration offices, and GCS counselors are responsible for individual student planning, classroom guidance and responsive services. Put together, those pieces can reduce the lag between a family’s arrival in Greensboro, High Point or one of the county’s smaller communities and a child’s first day in class.

Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley said, “I am grateful that they entrust GCS with the care and education of their children,” as the district framed the recognition around America’s 250th birthday and the sacrifices of service members. North Carolina has one of the largest military footprints of any state, and Fort Bragg in Fayetteville remains the country’s largest military base.

Statewide, 598 schools in 34 districts received Purple Star recognition for 2025-26, including 145 first-time awardees. For Guilford County families tied to military service, the value of the designation will depend on how consistently each school turns that badge into a smoother welcome, faster enrollment and stronger day-to-day support.